Identity Theft Seminar

Employers face liability for 5 kinds of ID Theft, join us for an free informational meeting reviewing the steps business owners need to take to reduce their risks, protect their business and impact their bottom line. PLUS what steps consumers can take to reduce their personal risks in light of the Columbia Falls Breach. Thursday, November 9th at 7:00 pm or Friday, November 10th at noon in the Freedom Bank conference room.

Columbia Falls Community Market – June 8th

Debit Card Shutdown Notice

Debit Card Shutdown Notice – June 2017

Freedom Bank received notification, that a merchant in the Flathead Valley was compromised sometime between October 2016 and April 2017. As a result, persons that used their debit cards at this business may be exposed to fraudulent activity. In cooperation with law enforcement and other financial institutions in the Flathead Valley, Freedom Bank immediately shut down the credit ability, for those cards that may have been exposed to the security breach. For those cards involved; customers should still be able to make a debit transaction, that requires a PIN. If you do not have a PIN for your card, customers may phone the 800 number listed on the back of the card to set a PIN. This had to be done immediately in order to protect everyone that was exposed.

Please understand that this breach had nothing to do with the bank’s security systems and has impacted other banks in the Flathead Valley. Our staff has been working diligently trying to notify our customers, but due to the high volume of cards compromised, we did not have enough staff, or time, to call everyone before the cards, before initiating action. Shutting the cards down protect both our customers and Freedom Bank. We apologize for any inconvenience. New cards have been ordered and customers should be receiving them within 7-10 business days. Thank you for your understanding.

Please call us at (406) 892-1776 if you have any questions.

New Website Coming Soon!

Hi Everyone! We just wanted to let you know that we are working on a new and improved website. We hope to release it very soon, so don’t be alarmed if things look a little differently around here. The new site will be cleaner, fresher and more mobile friendly. Please contact us at info@freedombankmt.com or (406) 892-1776 for more information.

Cabin Fever Days Celebrates 39 Years

Cabin Fever Days and the Barstool Ski Races are a family, community event that takes place in Martin City, Montana, on February 10th – 12th 2017.

There are tons of family and adult activities throughout the Cabin Fever Days weekend throughout the Canyon. The Barstool Ski Races are fun for the whole family to watch, with different race classes and two days of racing culminating in the finals on Sunday, February 12th. There are even kids races on Saturday, starting at noon.

Kids activities include kids Sled Races, Cupcake Walk, Gunny Sack Race, Haystack Search, Magic Show and a Puppet Show! Come into the Leets Fire Hall in Martin City to warm up the kiddos, and enter our Cabin Fever Coloring Contest.

Adult activities include live music all weekend in several locations, and competitions of strength , skill wits with cash prizes.

Columbia Falls High School Speech and Debate brought home the hardware from state for the 12th consecutive time, capping an undefeated season.

“We are overwhelmingly proud of our state team,” said Head Coach Tara Norick. “We had a very strong team this year, with 14 seniors and a full roster of dedicated competitors. This is a group of kids who worked hard, practiced hard, stayed focused, and kept their eye on the prize. We couldn’t have done it without our amazing group of coaches — Alyssa Militello, Candy Gross, Alicia Gillan, and Barry Conger.”

Helping the Columbia Falls team make it to the top were individual state champions: Annabel Conger and Colin Norick, Policy Debate; Chloe Foster, Memorized Public Address; Estevon Torres, Dramatic Interpretation; Jacob Hohman, Informative Speaking; and Jerelyn Jones, Original Oratory.

Columbia Falls amassed 280 sweepstakes points to hold onto the state title. State runner-up, Whitefish High School Speech and Debate, fought to the finish line earning 126 points overall. Belgrade finished third with 107 points.

The second-place finish tops off a great season, according to Whitefish Head Coach Carissa Shupp.

“Our kids worked hard this year, and it paid off here. We are grateful to everyone who supported the Whitefish team, and proud to bring home medals in several events,” Shupp said.

Whitefish had one individual state champion — Makkie Haller in Impromptu Speaking.

Twenty schools from around Montana competed at the 2017 Class A State Speech and Debate Tournament in Laurel on Friday and Saturday.

Polson High School finished seventh overall with 43 points.

“While we didn’t have a huge team, they fought valiantly up to the very end,” said Polson Assistant Coach Kyle Dunn.

January Community Events

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ROUND TABLE

Tuesday, January 17th

7:00am – 8:00amThe Back Room / Night Owl
522 9th St W, Columbia Falls
There is a lot to discuss about the current and future business climate in and around Columbia Falls, and an Economic Development meeting is a great way for you to hear first hand about what is happening, as well as contribute your voice and thoughts to the conversation. This month we will hear about recent commercial and business real estate trends from Barbara Bennett of Bennett Appraisal Services. No-host breakfast is available from the Nite Owl.

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS North Forty ResortTuesday, January 24th

5:00pm – 7:00pm
3765 Mt Hwy 40, Columbia Falls

The North Forty Resort is an independent, family owned log cabin resort featuring twenty-two individual log cabins and one glamping tent available for nightly and weekly rentals. Centrally located in the Flathead Valley of Montana, a year round recreational dreamland, and minutes from the towns of Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Bigfork and Glacier National Park. Join us to tour this great local property, and for great networking, appetizers and refreshments!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Western A Divisional Speech and Debate Tournament
Saturday January 21, 2017

From Principal and Board member Scott Gaiser: Columbia Falls HS will be hosting the Western A Divisional Speech and Debate Tournament On Saturday January 21, 2017. Judges are always needed for such a large event and much appreciated. Financial contributions will help us provide food for the hospitality room for volunteers, judges and coaches. To find out how you can help by being a judge or contributing to the hospitality room, please contact Tara Norick at 249-6177 or at t_norick@cfmtschools.net. Your support is very much appreciated.

Night of Lights 2016

Freedom Bank’s President Don and his wife Barbara inside the Freedom Bank Gingerbread House cart.

The Freedom Bank crew has a lively time walking in community parades every year. We count it as a privilege to have a part in this 31-year tradition that thrives on community pride and fun with friends. Surely all that attended the parade can agree that the community pride that is so infectious in Columbia Falls was on display at the Night of Lights. The tight knit community huddled around nucleus to watch festively decorated floats mosey by and treat the spectators with handfuls of candy.

Freedom Bank had an entertaining time decorating their Gingerbread House cart before the parade. It was truly a team effort that required every member of Freedom Bank to contribute their skills in some way, shape or form. You may have seen us huddled around our cart assembling our scrumptious gingerbread house. It was genuinely a fun team-building time.

We look forward to the next parade where we can put our hands back to work to come up with another creative and goofy cart.

Night of Lights

Join Freedom Bank at the Night of Lights this Friday!

Night of Lights is a 31+ year tradition centered around a fun, community filled parade. This event is also features craft fairs, caroling, a live nativity, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, food vendors and fun with your neighbors!

The Night of Lights Craft Show starts at 4pm at the North Valley Community Room.